Historical rankings of presidents of the United States: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[[Image:Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Abraham Lincoln]] is often considered the greatest president for his leadership during the [[American Civil War]] and his eloquence in speeches such as the [[Gettysburg Address]].]]

===Presidents by average scholar rank===

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;" cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2

! # !! President !! Years in Office !! Political party !! Average ranking !! Notable achievements and failures informing rank:<br>

| 1 || [[Abraham Lincoln]] || 1861–1865 || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || 1.58 || Skillful leadership during [[American Civil War|the Civil War]] to preserve the Union, [[Gettysburg Address]], [[Emancipation Proclamation]], [[Homestead Act]], [[Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act]], [[Pacific Railway Act]]

| 2 || [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] || 1933–1945 || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] || 2 || Leadership during [[World War II]] and [[Great Depression]], [[fireside chats]], [[New Deal]], including [[United States Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]], [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], unemployment insurance, [[Civilian Conservation Corps]], extensive infrastructure investments through the [[Works Progress Administration]] and other agencies, [[Rural Electrification Act|rural electrification]], [[FDIC]], [[Federal Housing Administration]], [[Fair Labor Standards Act]], [[Federal Open Market Committee]], [[National Labor Relations Act]], regulations (of which the Supreme Court struck down the NRA regulations as overreaching), [[Good Neighbor policy]] with [[Latin America]], [[Lend-Lease]] to be the [[Lend-Lease|"Arsenal of Democracy,"]] [[Four Freedoms]], [[Atlantic Charter]], hastened the end of [[Colonialism]], [[Manhattan Project]], [[Japanese American internment]], [[G.I. Bill of Rights|G.I. Bill]], creation of the [[United Nations]], overcame [[Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness|paraplegia]], only President to be elected to four terms.

| 3 || [[George Washington]] || 1789–1797 || refused to affiliate || 2.83 || First President, founding father of the republic, establishment of many precedents through acts such as [[Judiciary Act of 1789]], [[Residence Act|Residence Act of 1790]], [[Bank of North America|Bank Act of 1791]], [[Coinage Act (1792)|Coinage Act of 1792]], [[Naval Act of 1794]], establishment of the [[United States Cabinet]], response towards the [[Whiskey Rebellion]], relinquished power uneventfully after two terms, only unanimously elected president (twice), [[Washington's Farewell Address|Farewell Address advocating nonintervention in world affairs]]

| 4 || [[Thomas Jefferson]] || 1801–1809 || [[Democratic-Republican Party (United States)|Democratic-Republican]] || 4.42 || Set precedent for peaceful transfer of power between rival [[Political party|political parties]], [[Louisiana Purchase]], [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]], intellectual leadership for [[liberty]], [[separation of church and state]] advocate, [[states' rights]]

| 5 || [[Theodore Roosevelt]] || 1901–1909 || Republican || 4.83 || Charisma, [[conservationism]], [[anti-trust|trust-busting]], [[Hepburn Act]], [[Pure Food and Drug Act|safe food regulations]], "[[Square Deal]]," [[Panama Canal]], [[Great White Fleet]], first American to win [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for negotiation of peace in [[Russo-Japanese War]], [[Roosevelt Corollary]]

| 6 || [[Woodrow Wilson]] || 1913–1921 || Democrat || 6.58 || [[World War I]] leadership, created [[Federal Reserve]], [[Federal Trade Commission]], [[Clayton Antitrust Act]], progressive [[income tax]], lower tariffs, [[women's suffrage]] (reluctantly), [[Treaty of Versailles]], sought [[14 points]] post-war plan, [[League of Nations]] (but failed to win U.S. ratification), segregated the federal government, won [[Nobel Peace Prize]]

| 7 || [[Harry S. Truman]] || 1945–1953 || Democrat || 7.18 || [[World War II]] and [[Cold War]] leadership, [[Marshall Plan]], [[NATO]], [[Truman Doctrine]], [[President's Committee on Civil Rights|desegregation of armed forces]], [[Fair Deal]], forced to make many tough decisions; [[the buck stops here]], ordered use of [[atomic bomb]]s on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] to end [[World War II]], [[Roswell Incident]], contained the [[Korean War]], established the [[United Nations]] (proposed by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]])

| 8 || [[Andrew Jackson]] || 1829–1837 || Democrat || 9 || Greatly increased the power of the presidency, expanded political participation to average American citizens (but not yet women and slaves), "[[Jacksonian democracy]]," defused [[Nullification crisis]], eliminated national debt, [[Bank War]], [[Indian Removal Act|Trail of Tears]], refused to obey a Supreme Court decision, a colorful and popular personality, Age of Jackson, [[Petticoat Affair]] distraction within administration

| 9 || [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] || 1953–1961 || Republican || 10.73 || [[Cold War]] leadership, interstate highway system, era of peace and moderate economic prosperity, emphasized [[free market]]s but kept [[New Deal]] reforms, enforced Supreme Court [[desegregation]]

| 10 || [[James K. Polk]] || 1845–1849 || Democrat || 11.08 || [[Mexican-American War]] leadership, annexation of Texas, acquisition of Mexican territories ([[California]], etc.), settled conflict with British over [[Oregon Territory]], [[Manifest Destiny]]

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| 11 || [[John Adams]] || 1797–1801 || Federalist || 12.17 || Set precedent for peaceful transfer of power between rival political parties, established [[Department of the Navy]], criticized for unconstitutional [[Alien and Sedition Acts]], prevented war with [[France]], though many Americans wanted it after [[XYZ Affair]]

| 12 || [[John F. Kennedy]] || 1961–1963 || Democrat || 12.5 || [[Cold War]] leadership, proposed [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights]] legislation, defused [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], "[[Ich bin ein Berliner]]" speech in West Berlin, [[Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]], [[Project Apollo]], [[Peace Corps]], [[New Frontier]], early death left impression of unfulfilled promise, [[Bay of Pigs]]

| 13 || [[James Madison]] || 1809–1817 || Democratic-Republican || 12.67 ||[[Indian Wars]], [[Second Bank of the United States]], Blamed for unnecessarily declaring and then mishandling [[War of 1812]], [[states' rights]]

| 14 || [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] || 1963–1969 || Democrat || 13.6 || [[Vietnam War]] quagmire, [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights]], [[Voting Rights Act]], [[Great Society]]: [[Medicare (United States)]], [[Elementary and Secondary Education Act]], [[Higher Education Act of 1965]], [[War on Poverty]] welfare programs, [[Head Start]], tax cut, booming economy leading to [[inflation]], [[Wilderness Act]], [[National Endowment for the Arts]], [[National Endowment for the Humanities]], [[Public Broadcasting Act of 1967]], [[Department of Transportation]], expanded [[consumer protection]], [[Model Cities Program]], [[1965 Immigration Act]], [[Timeline of major US environmental and occupational health regulation|clean air/soil/water laws]]

| 15 || [[Ronald Reagan]] || 1981–1989 || Republican || 13.88 || "Great Communicator", [[Cold War]] leadership, tough policies initially against [[USSR]] but then ended the [[Cold War]] with [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], hastened the break-up of the Soviet Union, Berlin Wall speech, huge military build-up (historians disagree on influence), [[Contras]], [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|arms control treaty]], advocate of [[free market]]s and "free and fair" competition, helped restructure the American economy following a period of stagflation, strong economic expansion (without substantial inflation), [[supply side economics|large tax cuts]] which caused large federal budget deficits, tax reform, sought cuts for [[welfare]] and [[Great Society]] programs, [[Savings and Loan crisis]], [[War on Drugs]], slow response to AIDS crisis, [[Iran-Contra scandal]], appointed [[Alan Greenspan]] chairman of the Federal Reserve, Support for right-wing [[military dictatorships]] in [[Latin America]], "the Teflon President"

| 16 || [[James Monroe]] || 1817–1825 || Democratic-Republican || 14.08 || [[Monroe Doctrine]], Acquired Florida, admission of five states to the Union, [[Era of Good Feelings]], [[Panic of 1819]], [[Missouri Compromise]], [[Rush-Bagot Treaty]], ran for president virtually unopposed in 1820

| 17 || [[Grover Cleveland]] || 1885–1889 and 1893-1897|| Democrat || 15 || Honest and hardworking, fought corruption, vetoed hundreds of wasteful bills, achieved the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] and civil service reform, violent suppression of strikes, won the popular vote for his reelection but lost the electoral vote, only president to be elected again four years after losing reelection

| 18 || [[William McKinley]] || 1897–1901 || Republican || 16.33 || [[Spanish-American War]], [[Philippine-American War]], and the [[Hawaii#Hawaiian territory|Annexation of Hawaii]], [[imperialism]]

| 19 || [[John Quincy Adams]] || 1825–1829 || [[National Republican Party (United States)|National Republican]]/[[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] || 16.9 || 1824 [[Corrupt Bargain]], Presided during the end of the [[Era of Good Feelings]], development of the [[American System (economic plan)|American System]]

| 20 || [[William Howard Taft]] || 1909–1913 || Republican || 19.67 || Admittance of [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]], [[anti-trust|trust-busting]], strengthening of [[Interstate Commerce Commission]], belief in world peace (pacifism)

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| 21 || [[Bill Clinton]] || 1993–2001 || Democrat || 20.67 ||[[1993 World Trade Center Bombing]], [[NAFTA]], non intervention in the [[Rwandan Genocide]], [[welfare reform]], economic expansion, [[Lewinsky scandal|Monica Lewinsky Affair]] resulted in the [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeachment procedure]], [[Whitewater scandal]], federal budget balanced, [[Telecom Reform Act|deregulation of telecommunications industries]], [[Americorps]], [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]], the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], military intervention in [[Kosovo]] and [[Somalia]], extended [[NATO]] to Eastern European countries, [[Waco Siege]], [[Oklahoma City Bombing]], failed attempts on [[health care reform]], [[Operation Desert Fox]], [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Bill]], [[USS Cole Bombing]]

| 22 || [[George W. Bush]] || 2001– || Republican || 21 || Foreign policy of pre-emption, [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], [[War on Terrorism]], [[Department of Homeland Security]], [[2001 war in Afghanistan]], [[PATRIOT Act]] which drew criticism for [[Civil Rights]] violations, [[Iraq War]], capture of [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp]], [[No Child Left Behind]], tax cuts, [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare prescription drug benefit]], largest ever federal budget deficits, [[Marriage Protection Act]], [[Hurricane Katrina]], withdrawal from the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]], expansion of executive power ([[unitary executive theory]]), [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy|NSA warrantless surveillance]], [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]], [[Vision for Space Exploration]], opposition to the [[Kyoto Protocol]], [[Plame affair]], nonintervention in [[Darfur conflict]], foiled numerous potential terrorist attacks <ref>[http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--fortdixplot0516may16,0,6859655.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey] ''Newsday.com'', May 16, 2006 </ref>

| 23 || [[Martin Van Buren]] || 1837–1841 || Democrat || 21.58 || [[Panic of 1837]], enforcement of [[Treaty of New Echota]] led to [[Trail of Tears|displacement of Cherokees]]

| 24 || [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] || 1877–1881 || Republican || 22 || [[Compromise of 1877]] and [[Desert Land Act|Desert Land Act of 1877]]

| 25 || [[George H. W. Bush]] || 1989–1993 || Republican || 22.14 || [[Gulf War]], president during the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and the collapse of [[Soviet Union]], economic recession, broke "[[Read my lips: no new taxes|No New Taxes]]" pledge, [[NAFTA]] trade treaty, [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]]

| 26 || [[Chester A. Arthur]] || 1881–1885 || Republican || 25.5 || Revitalization of U.S. Navy, civil service reform

| 27 (tie) || [[Jimmy Carter]] || 1977–1981 || Democrat || 26.3 || [[Camp David Accords]], [[Iranian hostage crisis]], stagflation and energy crisis, image of ineffective leadership, appointed [[Paul Volcker]] chairman of the Federal Reserve to end inflation, [[deregulation]] legislation, sought energy legislation

| 27 (tie) || [[Gerald Ford]] || 1974–1977 || Republican || 26.3 || Lack of charisma, controversially pardoned [[Richard Nixon]] and other Watergate conspirators, [[Whip inflation now]], decreased unemployment, [[Helsinki Accords]], only unelected President (succeeded after being appointed Vice President to replace [[Spiro T. Agnew]])

| 29 || [[Herbert Hoover]] || 1929–1933 || Republican || 26.17 || Handling of onset of the [[Great Depression]], handling of [[Bonus Army]] demonstration, [[Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act]]

| 30 || [[Benjamin Harrison]] || 1889–1893 || Republican || 27.33 || Failure to convince country of his leadership capabilities, tariff issue handling, loss of party leader support

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| 31 || [[Calvin Coolidge]] || 1923–1929 || Republican || 28.42 || Lack of interest in exerting executive or federal power (regarded as a strength by some and by others as a major cause of the [[Great Depression]]), oversaw a period of economic stability, put dignity back in the White House after the corrupt Harding Administration, [[Kellogg-Briand Pact]]

| 32 || [[Richard Nixon]] || 1969–1974 || Republican || 29.2 || [[Vietnam War]], [[Nixon in China|Normalization of relations with China]], ''[[détente]]'', [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]], [[Clean Water Act]], creation of [[Environmental Protection Agency]], [[Incomes policy|wage and price controls]], corruption ([[Watergate scandal]], harassment of opponents via [[FBI]] and [[IRS]]), resignation to avoid impeachment

| 33 || [[James A. Garfield]] || 1881 || Republican || 29.57 || Brief administration (six months), death prompted the Civil Service Act and modern bureaucracy (limiting the [[spoils system]])

| 34 || [[Zachary Taylor]] || 1849–1850 || Whig || 29.58 || Short term, opposed slavery expansion westward, did not support [[Compromise of 1850]]

| 35 || [[John Tyler]] || 1841–1845 || Whig/none || 31.75 || First vice-president to become president after the death of his predecessor, lack of support from any political party

| 36 || [[Millard Fillmore]] || 1850–1853 || Whig || 32.41 || [[Fugitive Slave Act]], lack of leadership during growing sectional divisiveness, [[Matthew C. Perry|Perry expedition]] and [[Convention of Kanagawa]]

| 37 || [[Ulysses Grant]] || 1869–1877 || Republican || 33.42 || Administration (but not Grant himself) corrupt, [[Civil Rights Act of 1871]] (including activities to breakup the [[Ku Klux Klan Act|Ku Klux Klan]]), failures during [[Reconstruction]], [[alcoholism]] (disputed) <ref> Scatturo, Frank. Grant Reconsidered </ref>

| 38 || [[William Henry Harrison]] || 1841 || Whig || 33.57 || Popular figure, longest inaugural address, extremely brief administration (31 days)

| 39 || [[Andrew Johnson]] || 1865–1869 || Democrat/none || 34.67 || Impeded [[Reconstruction]], vetoed [[civil rights]] legislation, [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|impeachment]]

| 40 || [[Franklin Pierce]] || 1853–1857 || Democrat || 34.92 || Failure to avert the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], [[Gadsden Purchase]], poor leadership

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| 41 || [[James Buchanan]] || 1857–1861 || Democrat || 36.58 || Failure to avert [[American Civil War|Civil War]], failed to act during secession crisis, role in [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|Dred Scott decision]], prone to bouts of depression which affected his leadership, ruined his party, poor leadership

| 42 || [[Warren G. Harding]] || 1921–1923 || Republican || 37.33 || Corrupt and short administration, [[Teapot Dome Scandal]], opposed internationalism and Wilson's [[League of Nations]], moved America into [[isolationism]], presided over beginning of the "[[Roaring Twenties]]," confided "I am not fit for this office and never should have been here", numerous affairs, personal scandals and misuse of government resources <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/harding.htm] ''Washington Post'', June 7, 1998 </ref>

==Notable scholar surveys==

The 1948 poll was conducted by historian [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.]] of [[Harvard University]].<ref>[http://www.vicepresidents.com/new_page_14.htm]</ref> The 1962 survey was also conducted by Schlesinger, who surveyed 75 historians; the results of this survey are given in the book ''The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents'' by William A. Degregorio. Schlesinger's son [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]] conducted another poll in 1996, not currently on the above chart.